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| Photo of eyes looking through hole by Dmitry Ratushny on Unsplash |
October Theme Challenge – Eyes
October's Art Elements challenge is all about eyes. If you think about it, a large proportion of mental activity is generated through the eyes. The eyes are constantly moving, looking for something to focus on or selecting random stimuli. The eye transmits information to the brain. Some of the information that’s taken in is immediately discarded. The brain coordinates input from the eyes and prevents us seeing the world as a rapid sequence of flash-images.So even though we may not remember seeing the billions of images that pass through the eyes, the brain is constantly experiencing them. Closing your eyes can bring about a huge change in your consciousness fairly quickly.
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| Photo of woman with closed eyes by Amy Treasure on Unsplash |
Eye focus, or drishti, is key in yoga practice. Different types of yoga use different eye positions, and even within one practice, the eye focus will vary throughout the class. The first step to developing the capability to hold a drishti is learning to practice with the eyes closed. As soon as the eyes close and are focused on a fixed point, you will begin to feel a shift in your thought patterns.
When I read the saying “Close your eyes and open your mind” made me realize that I wanted to use closed eyes rather than open eyes as my inspiration for this challenge. I used a polymer clay focal by artisan Brooke Bock. The focal reminds me of an ancient Greek statue.
This unique Greek necklace has a pendant created with this ancient face. I found the long fine brass chain to pair with the ancient face. To complete my focal I added a vintage crystal and a key. The long necklace is 30 inches long with the focal hanging below 2.5 inches.
This looks like a very quick and easy necklace to make, but I ran into a major snag-- the chain which I adored. I loved the look of it but when I went to work with it, I realized that the holes in the chain portion were so tiny that I couldn't pass any kind of wire through them. What I ended up doing was using two crimp covers to attach the chain to the lobster clasp on both sides. It worked great because of the tiny decorative balls. They were perfect anchors for the crimp covers to be nestled between.
This is a blog hop so please visit all who participated and leave comments.
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| Photo of yogi with eyes closed by Form on Unsplash |
When I read the saying “Close your eyes and open your mind” made me realize that I wanted to use closed eyes rather than open eyes as my inspiration for this challenge. I used a polymer clay focal by artisan Brooke Bock. The focal reminds me of an ancient Greek statue.
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| Ancient Greek Necklace by BayMoonDesign |
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| Ancient Greek Necklace by BayMoonDesign |
This looks like a very quick and easy necklace to make, but I ran into a major snag-- the chain which I adored. I loved the look of it but when I went to work with it, I realized that the holes in the chain portion were so tiny that I couldn't pass any kind of wire through them. What I ended up doing was using two crimp covers to attach the chain to the lobster clasp on both sides. It worked great because of the tiny decorative balls. They were perfect anchors for the crimp covers to be nestled between.
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| I use crimp covers to attach the clasp parts |
This is a blog hop so please visit all who participated and leave comments.
That's a beautiful and tranquil looking necklace!
ReplyDeleteKathy, I like your interesting choice of a closed eye! I love how your necklace interprets that choice. I used that same crimp & cover technique not too long ago to attach some findings. If the chain permits, sometimes I use 28 gauge wire in a double rosary loop for added security. Alysen
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful take on the theme and I so love your thoughts behind it! The necklace turned out wonderful! :)
ReplyDeleteYour necklace is lovely. What a great idea to use the closed eye. Focusing on introspection/meditation. I love it! I also love how you problem solved the tiny links of the chain to finish off the clasp.
ReplyDeleteI never knew that about the yoga pose but that makes perfect sense. I really like your take on this theme, that necklace is just beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI love this necklace so very much! The romantic style and vintage vibe is totally my jam! Thanks for sharing how you solved the problem of the tiny chain. I'm not sure what I would have done myself, but now you've given me ideas. And, that chain works so perfectly, I'm glad you found a solution!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea to use closed eyes for your inspiration! That would not have occurred to me but now that you've done it, it makes perfect sense. Very clever solution for the thin chain; I've run into that problem myself and it's so frustrating. This is a great work around.
ReplyDeleteIt's a beautiful necklace and I love the story behind it.
I really like the closed eye focal! The necklace is lovely.
ReplyDeleteVery cool necklace and ingenious way to deal with the chain! I didn't know about the eye/yoga thing. I remember taking a class where the ability to concentrate on a pose was enhanced by focusing on an object, but didn't really learn the word and it wasn't a big part of the class...
ReplyDeleteBeautiful necklace. And brilliant solution for attaching the clasp.
ReplyDeleteI love the thought behind this month's theme. It is cool to read everyone's interpretation of the theme.
ReplyDeleteI think you captured it perfectly with your piece.
I also love how you got around the attaching of wire to clasp - great idea!
I love that you used closed eyes - and found what you posted about eye focus very interesting. Your piece has a simple Classic feel to it design-wise that suits the focal so well! (Sorry I was so late to the hop.)
ReplyDelete